The candidate list released by the BJP and the Congress for the May 12 elections has an abysmal representation for women. The BJP has issued tickets to just six women candidates whereas the Congress is fielding 15 of them. The JD(S) is yet to collate its list.

This once again brings to the fore the lack of women’s representation in Karnataka politics. Despite 49% of the state’s voting population being women, their representation is not even in single digits. The 2018 polls are not an exception in this regard. For instance, in 2013, of the 175 women who contested, the BJP, the Congress and the JD(S) fielded only 25 women candidates. A majority of women fought as independents and three-fourths of them lost their deposits.

In 2013, the number of women who made it to the 224-member state legislature was just six. In the 33-member state cabinet, only two were women. Umashree was minister for women and child development and Gundlupet MLA Geetha Mahadeva Prasad was given independent charge of sugar and small scale industries. Women political leaders see this as mere tokenism.

In fact, Karnataka has never had a woman chief minister or deputy chief minister. In the past decade, BJP MP Shobha Karandlaje was the only woman to get a heavyweight portfolio. She was minister of energy and food and civil supplies.

Politician and activist BT Lalitha Nayak, who was minister in the 1990s, sees the power of wealth as an obstacle for women to contest elections. “When parties issue tickets to the richest candidates, it is near impossible for women candidates to compete for seats unless they have financial backing,” she said.

Lobbying is also a challenge for aspiring women. “When party leaders prefer sitting MLAs over fresh faces, it obviously becomes difficult for women. Women cannot go on lobbying to the extent that male ticket aspirants can,” noted Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee’s Women’s Wing president Laxmi Hebbalkar, who is contesting from Belagavi Rural, said.

Many believe that in a society where patriarchy is deep-rooted, parties are no different. “Even though women have been elected to urban local bodies and panchayats — thanks to 33% reservation — the reality is that women are mere paper tigers and the men in their families dictate terms,” said child rights activist Nina P Nayak, who had contested from Aam Aadmi Party in the 2014 Lok Sabha poll.

“Women’s representation in Karnataka’s politics is insufficient,” said Congress leader C Motamma, a legislator for many terms. “There are tens of hurdles for women not just at the time of lobbying for ticket but also while fighting the election and post victory. Pacifying disgruntled party workers is the biggest challenge. It really takes years for a woman politician to emerge as a strong and commanding leader in a male-dominated society,” Motamma said.

With lateral entries into political parties becoming common, not to mention the competition for prominence among male politicians themselves, even the women cadre who rise in the ranks are not allowed to grow beyond a point. It will not be a surprise if there is a demand for reserved constituencies for women.